Description
Skills are quickly becoming the new unit of software, but most of them are written once, never versioned, and never tested. In this episode, Oleg from the Docker dev team sits down with a guest from Tessl to talk about how AI-native development is changing the way we build software. They dig into why skills need real package management, how evals prove whether a skill actually adds value, and how Docker sandboxes keep AI agents isolated and safe. Along the way they cover practical cost savings, the integration between Tessl and Docker sandboxes, and why contributing skills to GitHub without versioning or quality control can do more harm than good.
What you will learn:
• Why skills are the new unit of software, and how they compare to classes, packages, and npm modules
• How skills get assembled into larger reusable units like plugins and extensions
• Why AI context "rots" the same way software does, and why versioning and a registry matter
• What evals are, and how comparing model behavior with and without context measures real "lift"
• How a lack of lift can signal a skill is now obsolete, saving you tokens and money
• Why a cheaper model with good context can outperform an expensive model without it
• How the Tessl registry adds quality, security, and eval scores to skills
• How Docker sandboxes isolate AI agents using micro VMs, secrets injection, and network rules
• How Tessl "kits" provision tools and skills inside a sandbox for repeatable, shareable setups
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:09 Skills are the new unit of software
02:42 Assembling skills into plugins and extensions
04:32 Why writing skills just for yourself falls short
05:17 How Tessl brings package management to skills
07:42 What evals are and why they matter
09:16 Evals vs. tests: measuring real lift
14:22 When a skill becomes obsolete (and saves money)
16:40 Cheaper models with context: Haiku vs. Opus
19:32 Inside the Tessl registry and quality scores
21:14 Tessl meets Docker sandboxes
22:39 What kits are and how they work
23:58 Live demo: spinning up a sandbox with Tessl
25:52 Secrets and vaults inside the sandbox
27:34 Network rules for sandboxes
28:50 Pulling skills into the sandbox from Tessl
31:17 Recap and where to find Tessl
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